Jingbian Buckwheat

Jingbian Buckwheat

Jingbian buckwheat is a geographical indication protected product.

Jingbian buckwheat is an agricultural geographical indication product.

　　Buckwheat is the main crop in the Baiyu Mountain area of Jingbian County. Every summer, when you visit the Baiyu Mountains, fields upon fields of blooming buckwheat flowers stretch as far as the eye can see, blooming between heaven and earth and in the hearts of farmers. These flowers are not only the fruits of autumn harvest but also the "plump wallets" of the farmers.

　　In early winter, in Zhongshanjian Town, the prime production area for tartary buckwheat, local villager He Jiafang and her family are busy bagging the screened black tartary buckwheat. She told reporters that in the past, the mountain fields here were either planted with buckwheat or left fallow. Three years ago, the town government encouraged them to plant black tartary buckwheat. The yield and price of black tartary buckwheat are more than double those of ordinary buckwheat, so they started using the barren hills to grow it. This year, He Jiafang planted over 40 acres of black tartary buckwheat, with a total output of around 7,000 jin. At the contracted purchase price of three yuan, her income reached 20,000 yuan.

　　In recent years, in response to the current state of the small grain industry, Jingbian County has actively shifted its development strategy. By improving buckwheat varieties, enhancing scientific farming techniques, and extending the industrial chain to upgrade traditional industries, the county has made significant adjustments to its industrial structure. Today, the buckwheat industry in Jingbian is growing stronger, gradually forming an industrialized and scaled development pattern. Buckwheat has become a "solid" industry for farmers in the Baiyu Mountain area to achieve prosperity.

　　Varieties are the primary productivity of the land. To achieve variety improvement and increase farmers' benefits, in recent years, the Jingbian County Agriculture Bureau and Science and Technology Bureau have successively promoted excellent varieties such as "Yuqiao No. 4," which won the Third Prize for Science and Technology from the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government this year, and "Qiaozha-1," which ranked first in yield during the national buckwheat variety regional trials this year. In the past, the traditional local variety grown in Jingbian was called Red Flower Buckwheat. It had thin and tall stalks, was prone to lodging in fields with higher fertility, and typically yielded only 100–150 kg per mu, resulting in low benefits for farmers and a gradual reduction in planting area. Compared to the old variety, the 'Qiaozha-1' strain planted in Sanchaqu, Jingbian, generally yields over 250 kg per mu. Currently, Jingbian is expanding the seed production quantity of this variety as a preparatory step for large-scale promotion.

　　Scientific farming techniques are a booster for the development of the small grain industry. To improve planting efficiency, the Jingbian County Science and Technology Bureau organized agricultural machinery cooperatives to develop buckwheat sowing machines. These are designed to complete fixed row spacing, hole spacing, seeding rate, and fertilization in one go. Mechanized production can significantly reduce the labor intensity for farmers and facilitate the promotion of standardized planting models. The Fumin Buckwheat Production Professional Cooperative in Jingbian is a company specializing in buckwheat seed production and has obtained the seed production and management rights for the 'Yuqiao No. 4' and 'Qiaozha-1' varieties. The enterprise organizes major buckwheat growers to plant hybrid buckwheat seeds and signs planting contracts with farmers, greatly boosting their enthusiasm for planting. To date, Jingbian County has 12 small grain professional cooperatives that have reached a considerable scale, and four enterprises have registered trademarks.

　　While improving the quality and yield of buckwheat, Jingbian is also actively exploring markets for its agricultural products to enhance their "value." At present, Jingbian has initially established a one-stop system for buckwheat production, processing, and sales, providing peace of mind for buckwheat growers. The Huangtu Agricultural Products Company in Jingbian County is a key supported deep-processing enterprise for agricultural products. The company adheres to independent research and innovation, gradually achieving an integrated industrial operation model of planting, processing, scientific research, and sales. Since the year before last, over 200 villagers from Zhongshanjian Town in the county and a local agricultural products company named "Huangtu Zhi Lian" have signed contracts. The company provides unified seed supply and technical guidance, and after the tartary buckwheat matures, it is purchased uniformly by the manufacturer. Through the "enterprise + base + farmer" development model, efforts to build the tartary buckwheat brand and deepen product packaging and processing have been intensified. It is understood that each pound of finished tartary buckwheat requires about ten pounds of raw materials for processing, and the added value of the finished product correspondingly increases by more than double, greatly driving the value-added and efficiency of the tartary buckwheat industry.

　　Currently, the county’s total planting area for small grains is 120,000 mu, mainly focusing on buckwheat and millet-type crops. Relying on abundant raw material advantages, a number of agricultural product companies have emerged in Jingbian County, such as Hongsheng Small Grains Cooperative, which produces tartary buckwheat rice, and Yuante Desert Spring, which produces and operates buckwheat vinegar. It is worth mentioning that "Tongwanxiang Buckwheat Vinegar" has become a listed product in major supermarkets, high-end restaurants, and hotels in cities such as Beijing and Xi'an, with annual sales of 20 million yuan last year. "Huangtu Zhi Lian" tartary buckwheat tea has been a bestseller in supermarkets in cities such as Beijing, Xi'an, Shandong, and Ningxia, and even won the "Houji Award" at last year’s Agricultural High-Tech Fair. This represents that Jingbian’s tartary buckwheat is gradually gaining recognition externally.

　　To support the healthy development of the small grain industry, the county’s agriculture and science departments allocate funds and technical resources every year to conduct trials and demonstrations of improved seed varieties. The selected excellent varieties are promptly and free of charge distributed to farmers, fully promoting the healthy development of the buckwheat industry.

　　The production area of Jingbian buckwheat includes the current administrative regions of 17 towns and townships in Jingbian County, Shaanxi Province: Zhangjiabian Town, Hongdunjie Town, Ningtiaoliang Town, Dongkeng Town, Wangquze Town, Zhongshanjian Town, Yangmijian Town, Zhouhe Town, Yangqiaopan Town, Tiancifen Town, Qingyangcha Town, Huanghaojie Township, Haizetan Township, Zhenjing Township, Ximawan Township, Longzhou Township, and Xiaohe Township.

　　"Letter from the People's Government of Jingbian County on Applying for the Delimitation of the Geographical Indication Product Protection Scope of Jingbian Buckwheat," Jing Zheng Han [2014] No. 214

　　Yulin City Technical Specification:

　　DB6127/T024-2015

　　"Jingbian Buckwheat Planting Technical Specification"